Television content and other data is often distributed over terrestrial networks, such as the Internet. Television broadcasters, for example, may transmit video feeds over a network of an Internet service provider (e.g., a wholesale network service provider). Video feeds (e.g., television programs) are often distributed to different local markets by transmitting the video feeds between locally based broadcaster stations, which may be affiliates of each other in different metropolitan markets. In this manner, for example, a television program from a FOX™ television station in one city could be made available to stations in other cities via the Internet. Unfortunately, conventional systems for distributing video (or other data) feeds over terrestrial networks have various shortcomings.
In a typical arrangement, a television distributor's site is interconnected with an Internet service provider network at an interconnection point. Through the interconnection point, video feeds can be transmitted and received by the distributor via the service provider network. Conventionally, an interconnection point includes individual video loops for each of the transmitted and received video services, as well as separate channels for data services. This arrangement has resulted in a number of drawbacks and limitations related to the manner in which data and video feeds are distributed over terrestrial networks.
One problem relates to lack of scalability of conventional systems. The use of individual video loops and data channels at distributors' sites has prevented distributors from taking advantage of economies of scale that could otherwise exist. In this regard, addition of a new video service over the Internet, for example, often cannot take advantage of already existing infrastructure or systems, due to the inflexible infrastructures at distributors' sites. For example, in conventional systems, if a video distributor wants to provide another video service, another separate video channel typically must be installed at the distributor's site.
In addition, conventional systems have been characterized by inefficient use of bandwidth. For example, often a high rate data channel, such as a full 270 Megabit/sec (Mbps) data rate channel, is used to transmit low bit rate data such as Asynchronous Serial Interface (ASI) traffic. In addition, for each additional destination that receives a data feed from a single source, the outgoing bandwidth consumed from the source increases. For example, sending a 20 Megabit/sec video feed to 20 destinations requires the customer to have at least a 400 Megabit/sec or faster connection. This inefficient use of bandwidth is related to the lack of scalability of conventional systems—conventional systems cannot rapidly adapt to changes in network bandwidth conditions to thereby use existing bandwidth in an efficient manner. As such, growth in, and use of, video services over terrestrial networks, such as the Internet, have been inefficient, limited, cumbersome and inflexible.
It is with regard to the foregoing problems and other problems that embodiments of the present invention have been developed.